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British and Canadian Sailors Seal Paralympic Medals
Great
Britain's 2.4mR sailor Helena Lucas and the Canadian Sonar team led by Paul
Tingley snapped up gold in their respective fleets as Paralympic racing
concluded at Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella.
Tingley and his team of Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes wrapped up gold with a
race to spare after a strong series of races. Meanwhile, Lucas asserted
herself in the 2.4mR with a trio of victories that ensured she took her first
gold at World Cup Miami after five previous attempts.
Lucas had a shaky start, retiring from the first race of the series, but came
back dominant, winning seven of ten races over the week.
A perfect final day of three race victories sealed her fate as she ended well
clear of Bruce Millar from Canada in silver and USA's Charles Rosenfield in
bronze.
"It's been a really
good regatta,” said Lucas. "We
have had some great winds and some good conditions in different directions.
It's made it a good regatta and we had 20 knots yesterday so it's been great.
Miami is always a really nice one to win so it's great to start 2016 off with
a win.”
Lucas won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and was the first British
athlete in any sport to be selected for Rio 2016. No one has been able to
defend the 2.4mR gold medal at the Paralympic Games but Lucas has a full
schedule this year as she attempts to do exactly that.
"This is a good
stepping stone for my preparations in September. It's busy from now on until
the Paralympic Games. I have some stuff planned in the UK in February and
then from March onwards I will be at the World Cup and EUROSAF events. It's a
busy calendar from now on.”
In a Paralympic year, sailors are looking to peak and lay down a marker in
the build up regattas. Those winning medals now, will be winning medals in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Canadian Sonar team came off the water buoyed by their performance over a
strong pack of racers. Their week featured three consecutive race wins midway
through that put them in a good spot leading into the final day that featured
three races.
A third and a fourth in the opening two was enough to seal gold and with the
pressure off they completed the regatta with a seventh.
"It feels like the work is starting to pay off,” explained Tingley, a
Beijing 2008 2.4mR gold medallist. "We
are committed to the process and it takes time as a team. We have worked hard
on our communication and as a result, we executed really well this week.
"The very best in the
world are here and we beat the best. Gold is the reassurance we needed going
into Rio.”
Australia's Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden took second
followed by Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont-Vicary (FRA).
Paralympic racers have a relatively quiet period before a full on period in
April and May that includes Sailing World Cup Hyeres and Weymouth &
Portland as well as the Para World Sailing Championships in Medemblik, the
Netherlands.
From 11:00 (EST), 16:00 (UTC) on Saturday 30 January, the Medal Races from
Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella will be broadcast live on the
World Sailing TV YouTube channel as well as ESPN3 in the USA.
The Embed code and links to follow the racing are available below:
ESPN3 - http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2754788/2016-world-sailing-cup
World Sailing TV
YouTube URL - https://youtu.be/_V2YQYar0IU
World Sailing TV
YouTube Embed - <iframe width="560" height="315"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_V2YQYar0IU"
frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Seven races will be broadcast live from the northern racing area on Biscayne
Bay in Miami, Florida, USA. The schedule in EST is available below:
NORTH COURSE - LIVE
11:10 - Nacra 17
11:45 - Laser Radial
12:30 - Finn
13:10 - 470 Men
13:50 - Laser
14:30 - 49er
15:05 - 49erFX
SOUTH COURSE
11:40 - 470 Women
12:20 - RS:X Women
12:55 - RS:X Men
By Daniel Smith, World
Sailing
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